Sick Obsession
by no-me-gusta-espanol
Summary: Even friends from grade school don't know each other's every secret.  Bulimia.
1. Chapter 1

Sick Obsession

Disclaimer: _This is the manga I wanted for years and years, since I was Chiyo's age. I don't, obviously own this. All rights go to Kiyohiko Azuma_

**Chapter 1: Secret Revealed**

Tomo never noticed the signs. But, she never minded small details. Yomi started eating less spicy foods-or she ate them at start of lunch. Yomi disappeared halfway through lunch, and when she returned, she picked at the small portion left in her bento.

Even Osaka noticed before Tomo did.

"Yomi?" Chiyo-chan called.

"She's not here," Osaka replied, "She's-"

"She's with the father," Sakaki announced sagely from her seat by the window.

"What!" Tomo leaped from her seat, chopsticks filled with omelet still in hand. "That's ridiculous!" Tomo smiled mischievously, "I bet she's with a guy..."

"Now, _that's _ridiculous," a voice deadpanned behind Tomo.

"Oh, Yomi," Tomo said, facing the taller girl. That's when Tomo first realized something was off. Yomi scowled, like normal and muttered that Tomo was a moron-also normal. But Tomo noticed the red splotches on Yomi's full cheeks, the paleness and fatigue that seemed to coil itself tightly around Yomi. As Yomi spoke, Tomo noticed the rasp in her voice.

"Hey, are you sick?" Tomo asked.

"No."

Everyone glanced at Yomi. Sakaki raised an eyebrow, before returning her gaze out the window.

"I still think Yomi has a boyfriend!" Tomo finally announced. She crossed her arms, certain.

"I don't think Miss Yomi has a boyfriend," Chiyo concluded, shaking her head.

Then Tomo noticed that Yomi never actually finished her bento. "You hungry?" she asked, elbowing Yomi in the ribs, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I'm fine," Yomi replied. She shoved her glasses up her nose harshly.

"You haven't been eating right for a while now," Kaori chimed in. She looked at Sakaki with a glint in her eyes. Sakaki's gaze lingered for a few seconds over Yomi's closed and tightly sealed bento.

"You haven't," she said.

"Right," chimed Chiyo, "You need to eat a balanced bento. You hardly touched your rice."

"Yomi's just afraid of getting f-a-a-a-t!" Tomo stood abruptly, and started twirling in a mock lover's dance. "She's in l-o-o-o-v-v-v-e!"

"Idiot!"

* * *

It wasn't until later, that evening during an abnormally long commercial break, that Tomo finally started to piece together Yomi's secret. After screeching for a minute straight and getting lectured by her father-who ended up agreeing and joined in with her at screeching at the the television (thus getting a lecture from her mother)-she hugged her bag of seaweed flavored chips close to her. She popped a few into her mouth and chewed loudly as she thought.

It could be a guy. Yeah, maybe it was a guy. But, Yomi immediately denied that. BUT, if wasn't technically against school rules to date, however it was strongly discouraged... SO, if it was secret... Maybe Yomi was with him now!

Tomo had to figure it out. Even before the commercial ended, she'd flung on her coat, and hopped out her window, landing perfectly on the outdoor sandals she kept there just in case. She resisted announcing her victory to the sleeping neighborhood; she opted for throwing her arms into the air madly and flashing a peace sign. Then she broke into a run.

She _had_ to catch Yomi and her beau... Maybe he was her sugar Daddy? Tomo's head filled with more and more escalating romance stories as she jogged the ten minutes to Yomi's house.

Tomo crept through Yomi's yard. Even through her closed window and a few meters distance, Tomo could hear Yomi's favorite radio station announcing "Little Tearful Diet Girl's" newest letter. Tomo put a hand to her mouth, giggling silently. She continued her stealthy journey to Yomi's window. She stood for a moment at the closed window; she opened it in one silent motion.

Then the pieces of Tomo's "Yomi Puzzle" rearranged themselves. She heard the gagging as she flung herself on Yomi's bed, kicking her sandals to the wet grass below. Tomo looked around, realizing Yomi was not in her room. So, she was sick, Tomo thought. Her heart dropped a bit. "Damn."

The retching stopped, and Tomo stilled. she felt like she was intruding on something private-although how much privacy did Yomi expect when she was making awful noises like that, Tomo reasoned. Still, she remained silent. The gagging continued. Tomo made her way out of Yomi's room, and down the short hall to where she remembered the bathroom was.

"Ah hah!" Tomo cried, throwing open the bathroom door. Yomi turned, one hand rested on the rim of the toilet, the other in her mouth. A bit of vomit dribbled down her fore fingers, along the back of her hand. Yomi's eyes widened.

Tomo just stared. She wasn't sure if it was Yomi's position or her lack of glasses that jarred her so much. Yomi removed her hand from her mouth, flinging it over the toilet bowl, a few specks of vomit fell alongside the rest.

"I felt sick. I was helping along the process." Tomo silently grabbed a handful of toilet roll, and handed it to Yomi. Yomi wiped off her fingers and face. Tomo noticed how shaky Yomi was as she stood up. Yomi clenched the sink; her knuckles turned white.

"You felt sick?" Tomo asked. She hadn't, except to hand Yomi the toilet roll, moved from her spot at the door. She still held one hand out awkwardly.

Yomi washed her hands in the sink. Yeah," she mumbled to her soapy hands, "I think I caught a bug."

"Do you do that often?" Tomo asked. "When you're sick. Do you help the process?"

Yomi plucked her glasses off the counter, and pushed them up the rim of her nose. They glittered in the harsh fluorescent lighting.

Yomi didn't reply, just started walking quickly to her bedroom. Tomo followed. Yomi stopped short, and Tomo crashed into her. "Hey! What gives?" Tomo squawked.

Yomi turned around, her face sharp and cold. Tomo noticed the fear in her normally passive eyes. "You can't go in."

Tomo laughed, "But my shoes are..."

"I don't care," Yomi snapped. Tomo stepped back a pace. Yomi continued to her room. Tomo ran fast, and barged through Yomi's door.

"Tomo!" Yomi cried out. This time, Tomo examined Yomi's room more thoroughly. How had she not noticed all the chocolate and sweets wrappers littering Yomi's floor? They crunched as she ventured deeper into the room. Tomo spied a personal calendar on the edge of Yomi's desk. She picked it up, reading the decreasing numbers. 155, 150, 148, 144, 141... Tomo looked over at Yomi. The puzzle pieces shattered, forming a whole new picture.

Yomi stood at her door, covering her eyes with a hand-as if to block out Tomo. Tomo continued to read. She noticed the neatly scrawled kanji that wrote out the words: fat, failure, no food over and over.

"Is this your new diet?" Tomo whispered. She took a step forward; a candy wrapper crunched. Enraged, she tossed the small calendar to the side, hoping the pages would tear beyond recognition.

"Is it?" she asked again. Another step forward. Crunch.

Yomi dropped her hand, letting it rest on the door knob. She sank to her knees into the pile of wrappers. Tomo raced to her side, her eyes narrowed. "Is. This. Your. New. Diet? Little Tearful Diet Girl-chan?"

"Yes," Yomi mumbled.

_I'm not really sure where I'm going with this. It just popped ito my mine how possible it could be in CANON for Yomi to be dealing with an eating disorder. Ah angst._

_Also, I proofread this multiple times, but I am having issues with my "n" key, so I apologize if I missed any errors._


	2. Chapter 2

Sick Obsession

Disclaimer: _Oh if I owned this, it wouldn't be a comedy. I enjoy teenage angst far too much. All rights go to Kiyohiko Azuma._

_I can't believe I got as many reviews as I did—yes, three reviews is "many" to me. Thanks so much!_

**Chapter 2: Distorted Advice**

Tomo sat along the edge of her bed, munching on a handful of her seaweed flavored chips, trying to process what had happened at Yomi's house. She grabbed another fistful of chips, popping them in her mouth. She wondered how Yomi did it. Did she stuff herself with sweets, just to make herself sick after? Tomo knew what it was. Bulimia: a term they went over every year in gym classes since year 4. Miss Kurosawa discussed it one day last summer, right before swimming lessons had started. Then Tomo had picked on Yomi in her bathing suit, saying she had gained weight...

"Yomi's crazy flexible 'cause her body is made of almost nothing but fat!" Tomo had cried.

"Double chop! Quit being so damn rude," Yomi shouted.

She didn't get angry much anymore. Like she was too tired to really care. Sure Yomi bit out short remarks like, "stupid" or "idiot," but Tomo hadn't seen Yomi _angry_ angry in a while. Even in elementary school, Yomi always made sure to put Tomo down. Tomo curled a hand into a fist, smacking it against her knees. What was Yomi's family life like? Even after years of sneaking in through her bedroom window, Tomo really didn't know. Mrs. Mizuhara was seldom home; Tomo knew she was a business women, and Mr. Mizuhara spent long hours at his office. She didn't think they put a lot of pressure on Yomi, as Miss Kurosawa had described. Bulimia. Yomi definitely had the eating and puking symptoms, but it was _Yomi_.

Tomo set the bad of chips on the floor next to her. She suddenly didn't feel so hungry. She imagined Yomi eating all those sweets. She chewed on her lip; there were a lot of sweets wrappers. Tomo brought her knees to her chest. After Yomi had confirmed that her throwing up was on purpose, Tomo nodded. Then cowardly left, mumbling "Right." She needed to go back. What if Yomi was doing that again? What if she was hunched over her toilet again, with vomit dripping down her fingers, her eyes so red and bloodshot, a satisfied glint in her eyes?

Tomo rested her head on her knees. She couldn't quite summon the energy to pluck herself from her spot by her bed. Tomo let her eyes drift shut. Beneath her closed lids, she could picture Yomi in her bathing suit from last summer. Yomi was so tall; she wasn't fat.

* * *

Tomo left home early, waving quickly to her shocked mother, intent on asking Miss Kurosawa more about it. She had fallen asleep on the floor; she had woken up to an uncomfortable crick in her neck and her face matted with chip crumbs-but she had woken up early. As she approached school, Tomo saw Miss Kurosawa and Miss Yukari exiting a car. She stilled for a moment, wondering who drove. She exhaled as she noticed Miss Kurosawa standing on the right side of the car. Plus, it wasn't the Yukari-mobile, she thought.

"Miss Kurosawa," Tomo called, waving her hand. Both teachers turned. "Can I talk to you?"

Yukari said, "No cheating. You had a month to prepare for your finals." She cackled.

"It's not about finals," Tomo said.

"And she wasn't talking to you!" Kurosawa exclaimed, bopping Yukari on the head.

"How can I help you?" Kurosawa smiled warmly at Tomo.

Tomo scratched her head, "It's kind of-" she looked around at the almost empty courtyard. "Private."

Kurosawa cocked an eyebrow, "I think Miss Yukari might be a better resource for you."

Tomo shook her head.

"But she is your homeroom teacher."

"N'yamo-" Yukari whined.

"Never mind," Kurosawa quickly amended. She placed an arm around Tomo, leading her away from the still-bawling Yukari.

"You're so cruel!" Yukari cried from a distance.

* * *

Once they reached classroom 1-5, Kurosawa gazed at Tomo evenly. "What do you need to talk about?" she questioned.

Tomo set her bag on a desk. She shook her head. "It's not me, right?"

"Ok."

Tomo walked to the window. She noticed Yomi at the school gates. Kurosawa settled herself at the teacher's desk. "I can't help, if you don't tell me," she coaxed.

Tomo spun around. "Why are some people bulimic?" she blurted out.

"Excuse me?" Kurosawa paused, one hand halfway to her brief case,

"You went over eating disorders last spring, so..."

"Yes," Kurosawa straightened, "but that was almost a year ago. Why are you asking now?"

Tomo returned to watching Yomi from the window. Yomi looked normal today. She was conversing with Chiyo-chan, and, if Tomo hadn't witnessed Yomi last night, she would never notice anything off, like Yomi's short replies. Chiyo-chan bounced around, not noticing that Yomi didn't speak much.

"Bulimia," Kurosawa stated blandly, certain that Tomo wasn't going to speak up, "is basically episodes of eating large quantities of food, binging, then getting rid of the food, purging. This can be by abusing laxatives, vomiting, over-"

"It's puking," Tomo said.

"Okay then." Kurosawa folded her hands, trying to recall what she usually taught about eating disorders. "Bulimia is usually marked by self hatred and a dissatisfaction with one's appearance. Bulimics are typically average or above average weight. Regular vomiting can hurt the esophagus, the heart. It causes electrolyte imbalance; it will rip the acid off your teeth."

"I said, it's not me!" Tomo glared at her reflection in the window. As she walked up to the school building with Sakaki and Chiyo-chan, Yomi didn't look like she had health problems. Though, Tomo remembered, last night as Yomi had lifted herself from the floor, she had been shaking really badly.

Tomo interrupted Miss Kurosawa's lecture on the consequences of eating disorders, "Why does she get dizzy after she throws up?"

Tomo bristled as she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Who's she?" Kurosawa forced Tomo to face her. Tomo glanced out the window, turning her face away from Miss Kurosawa's. Yomi was out of sight, probably taking off her outdoor shoes.

"Just a friend," she mumbled. Tomo looked up, "How do they stop?"

"It takes years of inpatient or outpatient therapy, a strong support system, and, most important, a desire to stop the symptoms," Kurosawa said, speaking like a text book.

"Ok!" Tomo punched a fist into the air. "Dr. Tomo will make this all better!" Tomo smiled widely, thanked Miss Kurosawa, and departed the classroom.

"That's not what I meant," Kurosawa called out to empty air.

_A/N: Yomi's dizziness is caused by dehydration off the top of my head. When you vomit, you lose a lot of water—even if you're consuming a couple cups worth during a binge._


End file.
